Contract extensions have been the talk of the town this summer as the Tigers were forced to trade Tarik Skubal at the deadline because they couldn’t get a deal done, the Pistons are still trying to re-sign Jalen Duren, and then the Detroit Lions faced a mini holdout from Jahmyr Gibbs before he signed a massive extension.
Brad Holmes and the Lions are trying to get more deals done so they don’t have to worry about losing a couple of star players next offseason after their rookie contracts are up.
Two of those stars are in the middle of contract talks.
Sam LaPorta and Brian Branch are in the final years of their rookie deals, and Holmes may have hinted at deals getting done in the near future with both of them, citing that he’s “hopeful” of having extensions signed.
#Lions GM Brad Holmes said he is still hopeful of getting extensions done with TE Sam LaPorta and S Brian Branch.
— Nolan Bianchi (@nolanbianchi) September 2, 2026
LaPorta and Branch are each set to make over $6 million this year, but the Lions are going to have to fork over some serious cash if they want to get deals done.
Top-tier tight ends and safeties aren’t exactly cheap in today’s NFL.
Lions are going to have to spend a pretty penny
Looking at the top tight end contracts in the NFL, here’s how much they’re getting paid annually:
- George Kittle: $19.1 million
- Trey McBride: $19 million
- Kyle Pitts: $17.6 million
- Isaiah Likely: $13.3 million
- Mark Andrews: $13.1 million
- Dalton Schultz: $12.6 million
- Cole Kmet: $12.5 million
- Jake Ferguson: $12.5 million
You could make a legitimate argument that LaPorta is better than everyone on that list, outside of McBride and maybe Kittle (injuries have really put a damper on his career recently). The Lions are likely going to have to pay LaPorta somewhere in the $15 million per year ballpark.
As for safeties, there are 11 in the league who make at least $15 million, and one of them happens to be Branch’s teammate. Kerby Joseph is the third highest-paid safety in the NFL, making $21.2 million per year. That likely means that he’s also going to get upwards of $15-20 million per year, and that’s going to be a tough negotiation for Holmes.
Two star players coming off rookie contracts who will likely be demanding at least $15 million per year are something that Holmes is going to have to live with if he wants to get the deals done.
Get ready to see the Lions spend even more money after making Gibbs the highest-paid running back in the NFL.
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